UFC 94 & Affliction PPV Buyrates Falling Short Of Expectations?

Following the two biggest mixed martial arts events in January, Dana White and Richard Schaefer with Golden Boy publicly stated that UFC 94 and “Day of Reckoning,” were estimated to do approximately 1.3 million and 150k-200k pay-per-view buys, respectively.

The trending information and some early information from a variety of sources gives an inconclusive picture nailing down how UFC 94 did, but it appears to have fallen short of early predictions regarding blowing away all previous company marks.

Based on the early trending data, it overall looks to be just over 1 million buys, with the major boost coming from Canada, where it was a record setter.

There are other reports from those with actual knowledge of PPV numbers themselves who have said at this point the confirmed number of buys was closer to 800,000, which, if true, would be a disappointment by today’s standards.

For what it’s worth, Richard Schafer of Golden Boy claimed 150,000 to 200,000 buys for Day of Reckoning. Tom Atencio only said they were up 50% from the first show, which, depending on what the first show did (estimates ranging from 90,000 to 115,000), could be anywhere from 135,000 to 175,000. Independent sources continue to have the number at between 80,000 and 120,000, with most saying 100,000. It’s still too early to get what I’d consider a reliable number, but several trending patterns are in and they indicate a slight decline from the first show.

These estimates tend to increase as time goes on, but unless there’s a major increase, it appears both shows have fallen short of their estimates. All things considered though, these numbers are still pretty good, just not as earth-shattering as both organizations led us to believe.